After breakfast, Jaejoong bid the family goodbye to go back to his business. Also, he had to catch up with the detective that he had hired. For seven years since he last saw Shin Hye waiting on Bo Young as a maid servant, he had not seen her anymore. He had tried to ask his aunt about it twice or thrice, but Hye Ri gave the same answer: Shin Hye ran away.

Jaejoong sighed again. He did not stay with his parents because he was a free spirit, and he chose not to stay too much with his aunt because he loved living alone. And one reason to live alone was to find his step-cousin who was said to have ran away. Little did he know that Shin Hye was just in the basement. 

Even the older servants would not tell him anything, and the new ones did not know a thing.

"Nae Pretty Girl, where are you?" he thought pensively, talking to Shin Hye in his thoughts.

He had grown fond of Shin Hye though they were not related by blood, for Shin Hye was very kind and gentle. Who would not forget such a girl? He loved both Shin Hye and Bo Young, though he was more tender to Shin Hye than to Bo Young.

"I wonder if the detective has succeeded this time," he thought.

****

Bo Young frowned as the nerdy Jong Hyun taught her about how to derive the answer to solving some postulates. Of course she knew all about it. Why did her eomma hire that geeky young man? Bo Young did not care if Jong Hyun and his family would work hard just to pay off the debts plus the interest. She thought the young man rather do hard work than teach her all afternoon.

And she pounded her hand on the table.

"Can you just... study on your own?" Bo Young told Jong Hyun. "I don't need you, and you know that very much!"

"Geunde, Mdm. Hye Ri hired me for Agasshi," Jong Hyun said politely.

"Geumanhae, huh?" she told him to stop.

Jong Hyun stood up, gathered his books, bowed, and went to his room. However, he met the great madame, who raised an eyebrow. She asked why he had to leave the session so soon, and he had to explain. But good thing, Hye RI was reasonable enough.

"Arasseo. Get to your room and study on your own. I will tell Bo Young that she needs you," Hye Ri said dryly.

Jong Hyun bowed down again and walked to his room. When he was about to enter his room, he saw the door to the basement and smiled. He hoped that the woman in the basement would find it all right if he should bring a lamp. He wanted to see her face, he wanted to know her, and he wanted to know her story. His parents taught him kindness to those in need, and for him, offering his kindness to Servant would be the best thing to do in his world.

"I have to see her," he thought with a smile.

****

That night, after studying till ten-thirty, Jong Hyun grabbed a candle that he placed on a tall glass, lit it up, and darted slowly to the next room. He hoped that the servants had slept as well so that they would not know of his little adventure.

When he got to the end of the stairs, he raised his glass to see if the woman was there. Fortunately, he saw her carving something on the wall.

"Annyeonghaseyo?" Jong Hyun greeted.

Servant looked at him and did not move. Jong Hyun slowly moved, fear still in his heart. And again, he sang gently to "Wishlist." As he got nearer, he squatted in front of her, still holding the candle. He saw that she was absorbed in her little activity.

"Annyeonghaseyo?" he greeted again cheerfully.

"Eung."

She stopped carving and looked at him, and he inched the candle closer to the wall.

"Park Shin Hye?" he read out. Then, looking at her, he asked with a smile. "Is that Agasshi's name?"

Shin Hye nodded, her face still hidden a bit by her hair.

"Agasshi has a beautiful name," Jong Hyun said. "Can... can I see your face?"

Shin Hye shook her head in fear, and he, somehow, understood.

"Agasshi must really be fearful of something," Jong Hyun said sadly. "I understand if you cannot share me anything...but I want to be your friend."

Shin Hye found it hard to trust him, but Jong Hyun started calling her by that name.

"Whoever calls you 'Servant' must really be mean and harsh," Jong Hyun commented. "Why call you that when you have a beautiful name?"

Shin Hye cocked her head to the side. What did he mean by that? Could she really trust him?

"I hope you will not mind if I sing to you again," Jong Hyun said. "I really love to sing."

Jong Hyun placed the glass down on the floor and began singing to Howie Day's "Collide." After the song, he yawned and blinked.

"I have to attend classes tomorrow," Jong Hyun said. "But I really wanted to see you and spend time with you. Maybe I should get down here at night and sing to you or read books... Eottae?"

Shin Hye nodded passively, but Jong Hyun smiled.

"Arasseo. I will bring good books, and I will read to you."

And Shin Hye nodded again. And then, she raked the hair off her face so that Jong Hyun was able to see a glimpse of her face in the dim light. He was in awe, and wanting to get a chance before it's too late, he grabbed the candle and placed it in front of her.

And now, Jong Hyun got to see Shin Hye's face.

His heart skipped a beat to see such pretty face, but he was sad because she looked so forlorn and wounded. There were unhealed wounds on her cheeks, and her lips had burst.

"Why... why is Agasshi wounded?" he asked in concern.

Shin Hye bit her lips and cried silently. Jong Hyun traced through her figure and saw wounds on her arms, hands, and feet. Even her clothes were torn, and he thought that she might not have a spear in her lair. In a corner, he thought he saw things looking like torn clothes.

His kind heart was so moved that he did not realize that a tear dropped from his face.

"Who did this?"

But Shin Hye did not reply, so he did not press on. Jong Hyun thought that he should bring more than just books. He would need to bring clothes, toiletries, and first aid kit for her. And because she might not be eating well, he also thought of smuggling some food for her to eat at night. 

Shin Hye was still weeping when Jong Hyun touched her face to wipe away the tears.

"Uljima, Shin Hye-ssi," he whispered. "I will visit you every night, or when I can. Arasseo?"

And Shin Hye nodded. Then, he grabbed her hand and pressed it gently so her wounds would not open. They were very cold, as the basement was cold, and Jong Hyun brought them to his lips so he could blow his warm breath on them. Shin Hye liked the feeling of Jong Hyun's warm hands and warm breath that it was comforting.

"Shin Hye-ssi, I need to go back to my room now," Jong Hyun said to her. "But I need to make sure you sleep first."

Shin Hye nodded and lay on the cold floor. Jong Hyun could not take it that a poor girl would lay on the cold all by herself that he wept silently again. He decided to keep the matter to himself and not tell anyone, not even his parents. Maybe he could ask Jaejoong about her...

Or maybe not.

He decided to keep it a secret, to keep it to himself.

"Annyeonghi jumuseyo," Jong Hyun greeted her before going away.

Shin Hye looked at him go, and as the doors closed, she looked at her hands. Those calloused male hands were very warm and gentle, and the breath was really nice. She tried to warm her hands with her breath, but her own breath was cold. Jong Hyun's felt different, and she missed it.

"I wish to see him again," she thought sadly before getting up.

Then, she looked out the window to see the moon and the stars, and the clouds floating by.

"Seven years... Seven years... How can I start my plan?" she thought.

****

Those same moon, stars, and clouds were the ones that Jong Hyun silently watched by the time he arrived in his room. Seeing such a beautiful night made him want to cry, for he remembered someone in his past.

"Hitomi-san, jigeum eodiyeyo (Where are you now)?" he thought sadly.

After missing his Hitomi-san, his thoughts flew back to the girl below in the basement. The beautiful night made him want to cry again, for such a beautiful night could not be appreciated by someone who was in deep pain.

"I wonder what she's thinking. And I wonder why she's so wounded," Jong Hyun thought. "I wish I can find ways to help her, and I feel it is my part to do it, being her new friend. I think she does not have any friends."

And tears rolled down his eyes again.

"But I believe that someday, she will be free. Someday, her wounds will heal, and she will live the life that she wants," he thought with resolve. "And I... I will be able to help my parents pay off their debts. I will be out of here. I want to have lots of money to live life comfortably. I want to be like Jaejoong-ssi."

****

Jaejoong came home to his pad, dejected. The detective was not successful again. There were lots of imposters, but none of them fit the profile that he was looking for. 

"Shin Hye, nae Pretty Girl, where are you?" he asked himself.

As he lay on his bed, he grabbed a photo of 14-year-old Shin Hye in a pretty pink dress. He had kept it in his cabinet whenever he was missing her.

"Is she really lost? Why can't Jageun Eomma explain to me how Shin Hye ran away?" he thought. "It's not like Shin Hye is just going to run away without reason."

He kept the picture again, and leaned to the side. From his bed, he could get a glimpse of the moon, stars, and the clouds, the same ones that Jong Hyun and Shin Hye were looking at.

****

Bo Young finished her assignments and stretched her arms. There, she will be passing them and ace her class again. She arranged her things for the morrow before crawling to bed. As she cuddled with her Rilakkuma, she got a glimpse of the window and saw the moon, stars, and the clouds. Her chest ached so much that tears fell down as she cried.

"Appa.... Appa, bogo shipeo... Bogo shipeo..." she wept.

****

But Kim Hye Ri was fast asleep after a good meal with political friends, that she did not notice the scene outside her window. She did not see the beauty of the night filled with the moon, stars, and clouds floating by.

~~~~